


Ser Ryam Flowers, Wade, and Nonnie in Tarth

by Sookiestark



Series: The One Where Jaime Rescues the Princess [1]
Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Tarth, evenfall hall
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-14
Updated: 2017-07-22
Packaged: 2018-10-31 19:16:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 20,303
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10905735
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sookiestark/pseuds/Sookiestark
Summary: What if Jaime Lannister had rescued Rhaenys Targaryen from murder and the Sack of King's Landing? How would he have eluded his father and Robert and gotten her to Dorne? This is going to be a relatively light short story that will explore how a 17 year old fugitive from the Kingsguard might be able to get the Princess to through the Crownlands and the Stormlands without money, his name, or any experience taking care of a small child. They ended up in Tarth because it made a good plot twist.





	1. Chapter 1

Melissa Tarth sits beside her nephew, who sits on the huge ancient sandstone chair in the great hall of Evenfall Hall. Across the sea, her brother is on the mainland, celebrating winning a war with his liege lord, Robert Baratheon. He will return in a fortnight or two and she will be sent to marry Mikkah Mertyn of Mistwood.

Mikkah is about her age, but he is a few inches shorter. They met once, awkwardly before he went to war with his father, He is bookish and thin, though she has been told he loves horses and animals. She hopes they will be compatible. She doesn’t read much, but she loves horses. Actually, she loves all animals. 

Mikkah tried to hold her hand at the feast. His palms were sweaty and hot, but not too unpleasant, more awkward. He had nice brown eyes and when she took his hand, she felt him tighten his hand, a sign he was pleased with the match, a good sign for a good marriage. She is seventeen and would have already been wed if her brother’s wife had not died and a war had not sprung up. Her brother, Selwyn Tarth, had no desire to leave his young children to go to war. Melissa remembered him grumbling over leaving them for a war over a woman, while they ate dinner alone as a family. “Let Baratheon find another wife and let our Prince finally break the sway of the Dornish over the Iron throne. Gods know, Baratheon can have any woman he chooses and does. Let him choose another. One who wants him..” But honor demanded he go when the banners were called, and Selwyn left with his men and silenced his thoughts. No one has ever doubted Selwyn of Tarth an honorable knight and a fair and reasonable lord. 

Melissa is bored listening to petitions. It is always the same, too many refugees from King’s Landing, too many pirates, too many mouths, not enough food. Maester Roland makes her listen to the petitions for at least an hour every day. Then, she has lessons with the Septa for another hour. She goes around the castle with Tom Liddle, the steward, to check the stores, estimate repairs, listen to his guidance, or discuss when the tides and the impact on the fisherman that stock the town. Melissa makes Galladon, her nephew, come with her sometimes. He will need to rule Tarth one day, and even though he is young, he must learn. Her niece, Brienne, is only three and is kept by her nurse until the petitions and business are all settled. Melissa tries to make sure she spends time with the girl who is growing faster than Maester Roland has ever seen. It makes him laugh to see Brienne and Galladon compared to other children because they are so much taller. Also, Brienne has started crying whenever they try to take the toy sword that Selwyn gave her before he left from her. Melissa has ordered the nurse and Septa to stop. The little girl has lost her mother and her father is fighting a war. Leave her be. 

Melissa tries to go to the town sept once a week and help feed any refugees, wounded soldiers, or victims of the war that have made their way to the island. Her mother would be pleased that she still helps the poor and abides the Faith of the Seven. She also places flowers on the grave of Alyse of Tarth, her good sister who died birthing a baby over a year ago. She misses Alyse and her love for music. Alyse had been like a mother to her with her big blue eyes and her freckled smile. Before Selwyn left, he charged her with replacing the flowers on her grave weekly. In memory of his wife, he always kept a singer around the castle, since she loved music as much as he did. 

Selwyn and Alyce had loved each other, like the romance stories her Septa said she shouldn’t read. Selwyn would have singers in the hall for her delight and they would dance almost every night. Alyse loved to dance and she was light on her feet with a born grace. Selwyn, tall and striking, would spin her around the floor until she laughed. Sometimes, she would find them dancing in the gardens, even when there was no music. When she died and they buried her, he looked at her and said he would not marry again and his heart was laid to rest in her grave. Selwyn changed when she died. He laughed less, danced less, smiled less, unless he was around his two children or her. 

Melissa knows that she is not a typical girl. She is almost six feet tall and ungainly, all arms and legs. Her laugh is too loud, and she gives her opinion too freely. She also has a deep love for animals and Selwyn and Alyse were always permissive, maybe too permissive as the Septa says.  
Many ladies keep animals, a small dog, or a dove but she has quite a menagerie of animals, a pair of doves, a one- eyed hound dog, five ducks, and a kitten. Selwyn teases her constantly. “Ladies don’t raise animals,” he would say in his gruff voice. “They definitely do not have flocks of ducks, and ragged dogs. One day, I will throw all the ducks and that boney flea-bitten dog in a stew pot. Poor Mikkah, he will be eaten out of his keep with all these animals.”

Melissa has a soft spot for animals and has rehabilitated them all from injury, or raised them by hand. Except for Storm. Storm is her black gelding horse that was a gift from her brother for her fifteenth name day. She hasn’t been able to ride for awhile. Tom and Ser Harold say that it is too dangerous, until the Redwynes and Tyrells have sailed back, until the King’s peace is firmly in place. Melissa and Galladon might not be able to ride, but they go out to swim as often as they are able, almost every day. Brienne, her niece, is three and still too young, but will sit on the rocky shore with her nurse and watch them swim. 

Most of the able-bodied men have left to fight with Selwyn. Her Man-at-Arms, Ser Harold Gunn is older and recently has caught a chill and has been laid up in bed. She has sent word to Selwyn and she knows he will try to return as soon he is able to lift the siege at Storm’s End.

The petitioner drones on about the pirates and the small raids as Reach men abandon the siege, sensing the end of the war. He says they need more men and surely Lord Tarth did not take all the men with him. She silences him. “We will try our best to patrol the coast lines. Thank you.”

Her attention has been distracted from the appearance of a young knight on the edge of the great hall speaking with Tom, her steward. From the mud on his boots and his sunburn, she knows he has been displaced by the war. His lips are even cracked from the sea and she wonders from where he has come. However, even with the dirt, the sunburn, and his cracked lips, he looks like a prince from the romance novels, a lost king, a disguised prince. Her breath catches at his fine features and his strong jawline. The knight looks across the room and meets her eyes, steady and sparkling. She looks away, flushed for being caught staring at him. 

Her steward, Tom Liddle, gestures and then walks across the hall and leans in between her and the Maester and speaks in a whisper. “This young hedge knight has offered his services to the house. He has sparred a bit with Fat Alyn and Todd in the yard.. Both at the same time and gave them a good show. We could use an able bodied man. He seems honest enough. He says he is from the Reach, but I don’t think he means any ill will. Lord Selwyn should be back soon and could decide to keep him or not..”

She appraises the knight as he looks toward her. He has two small boys with him, an older boy who must be his squire and a smaller child who is no older than three. He walked with his leather armor with such a swagger that it seemed to Melissa that this man was born holding a sword, like the steel fit his arm like an extension of his limb.. Of course he was from the Reach, no one looked like a truer knight. He was young, no older than her. He had brown curls that framed his face and green eyes that sparkled. 

She calls out to him and motions for him to come closer. “Good Ser, Come closer so we can take a look at you.”

He stands before her and bows low. The children are behind him, hidden slightly, but also bowing “I am here for work my lady. I know that I don’t look like much.”  
She laughs because he looks like so much more than anything she has ever seen on Tarth.

When he hears her laugh, he looks into her face and smiles. He shifts uneasily on his feet as if he is thinking what to say, probably uncomfortable with speaking to a lady.

“My name is Ser Ryam Flowers of Greymist Falls. I am a hedge knight and this is my page, Wade. I need to get to the Reach but I could use some work.” 

“You and everyone else who could get on a raft before King’s Landing was overtaken. Tarth is overtaken with refugees.”

He smiled a quick white smile under all that brown hair, “Yes, my lady, I have seen the great number of rafts, boats, even a great kitchen tub made of wood floating in the sea full of smallfolk, since we left King’s Landing over a fortnight ago ago.” 

“My lady, I am quick with a sword, reasonably good with a bow and I have seen battle. I have heard your men-at arms is ill and Lord Tarth is still celebrating with King Robert.. I could be helpful. Wade is a good boy. He can help with horses, chickens, fetch wood, tend fires…”

 

Ryan's eyes were the prettiest green with long lashes. Melissa chided herself. She needed to focus on what was important, not his looks.  
“Who have you worked for?”

“House Footly, a short time, but mostly Lord Sloane. When Lord Sloane fell at the Battle of the Bells, I received word my sister was sick in Fleabottom after a Dornish sellsword dishonored her and left her there years ago. I was lucky enough to arrive a few days before Lannister tore it apart. My sister is dead but I have her daughter. When I get back to the Reach, I can give the girl to family to care for her.”  
“Girl?”

“Nonnie…”

The little boy walked forward and bowed awkwardly. Then, as if remembering she was a girl, Nonnie curtsied in her dirty tunic and a big straw hat to keep the sun off her. Melissa smiled. The little girl probably had never been in a hall before or before a lady. Nonnie’s dark hair had been awkwardly cut and give her the appearance of a boy. However, on closer inspection, she had fine features and would make a pretty woman when she was grown. Of course, Ser Ryam’s sister must have been lovely, even if she only resembled him slightly after him. Ser Ryam was smart to cut her hair. The war-torn roads were not safe for girls, even as young as three. 

“The Reach has done our people some damage. Why should I take you in my service?”

“My lady, I am just a simple hedge knight. I have done nothing to your people and I would be willing to lay down my life to you and the good people of Tarth. I am sworn to protect the weak, to be steadfast and true. I don’t have a head for politics, but I promise you I am honorable and true.” 

Galladon sat next to her, seven years old and almost a foot taller than most boys. He also seemed taken with the knight and looked at her with his sapphire eyes, pleading she let Ser Ryam Flowers stay. “I hear you had a good fight outside with Fat Alyn and Todd… Well, my nephew and I have not seen a good fight in a long time. My nephew Galladon longs to be a knight and could use some training. With the pirates and so many displaced people, Evenhall could use another good man. Welcome. My steward will get you and your company a room in the back tower.”

**************  
As they settle in a small room of the western tower, Ryan assesses his companions. They are going to sleep well tonight, even if there is only one straw mattress. He looks at the baby and Wade. Wade’s ears are too big, as are his eyes. He has sunburn and his tunic ripped. Ryam did not have a needle or thread. They left in haste and did not pack anything they could use or would need. There was no time with Lannister men, burning and looting, all around them. There was no time to think or plan. They fled in their tiny boat watching King’s Landing grow smaller behind them. 

A girl named Edie, who works in the kitchen, offers to mend their clothes and wash them. Her smile and the way her touches linger promise other things she might do for him. He agrees to letting her mend Wade’s tunic. 

Wade looks at him and scratches his head, absently. The boy is tired and starts unpacking his blanket and preparing for bed. His belly is full and it has made him tired. It is the first time they had a real meal in days in the Great Hall an hour ago. Good chicken stew with vegetables and thick brown bread, slathered with fresh butter. He knew Nonnie was used to milk and cheese every day. Her eyes lit up at the butter and she licked it off the bread and her fingers. Ryam was about to give her his, until he caught Wade looking greedily at it and he cut it in half, one for each of them.

“Come here, Wade.” The Maester had given him some salve to heal and soothe the sunburn that Wade and him acquired on the sea. He slathered it on the boy’s face and ears, and then he put it on his own face. It was cool and wet and made the tight hot skin feel wonderful. 

Nonnie’s skin didn’t burn; it just turned a darker shade of olive. However, it was Nonnie who he worried about the most . Ryam didn't want to tell the Maester too much. She had stomach issues since they started out thirteen days ago. At first, she hadn’t eaten anything. He thought it must be because her mother was dead and she barely knew him. Her whole world was different and she was too young to understand what had happened.  
Then the constant sun from being on the sea’s coast got to her. When she finally did eat, first she vomited and then she had diarrhea. He had taken her to a local healer to help her. The healer had told him to get her shade and fresh water and she would get better. What a healthy man might have travelled, in less than half the time with little impact, had taken a huge toll on the girl. If the Maester thought she was contagious, he might kick them out of the castle. Gods know, they needed the safety of the castle and some rest. He needed a chance to rest and he hadn’t had a chance in the past two weeks. But, she had eaten well tonight and it seemed like she was keeping it in. A good sign.

Wade looked at him. “I like it here. It is a good keep. Not as fine as the last one, but better too. Good for us.”

Ryam looked at him. “Wade, you are a good boy. You have been loyal and true. I will keep you safe until I get you home in the Reach. But I don't need your advice.”

Nonnie was sleeping and he took her tunic off her. He had found a clean sheet in their travels, hanging on a line. The small cottage had been burnt down and he could see that any people who had lived there had fled or been slaughtered. He had taken the two tunics for the children and the sheet and a blanket. Ryam had to get Nonnie out of the dress they had fled in and Wade would be better received if he wasn’t in the green velvet of the Reach lords. On the beach, where the cottage smoldered, Nonnie had silently stepped out of the pretty black velvet dress that had rubies sewed in flowers up the sleeves. Ryam had slipped the clean woolen tunic over her head and kneeled down to speak to her. “I need you to wear this just for a short time. When we get to Dorne, you will be back in velvets and silk, I swear. Your name is Nonnie. Mine is Ryam. Wade is still Wade. Okay?”

Nonnie did not speak. She had stopped speaking since they left King’s Landing. She just looked at him, all brown eyes and silence. She put her thumb in her mouth and started sucking. He took her hand and led her back the boat. He grabbed a rock off the shore. Wade had been glad to be rid of the green velvet and ran to join them in the boat with a stick he found. When they were back on the sea, Ryam wrapped the dress around the rock and dropped it off the coast.  
At night, he had taken to wrapping Nonnie in the sheet for bed, like she was an infant. He didn't know if it was proper for him to sleep beside her or what to do about her nakedness. However, he knew he couldn’t leave her alone and he had to sleep. He had many questions about how to take care of her, but he had no one he dared to ask. 

He took his own tunic off and lay on the mattress. Nonnie was closest to the inside, he on the outside. Wade had made his bed on the floor in front of them. Ryam’s sword lay next to him on the bed, just in case. It would be good to sleep in a castle. He might actually sleep. It seemed like he only slept an hour a night the past few weeks. 

Wade sat in the darkness, all elbows and knees. “Yes, ser. Evenfall Hall is a good place. Maybe when Lord Tarth comes home, we could stay in his service.” 

“Wade.. Lord Tarth fought on Robert's side. You know, we only can stay for a short time...”

“Yes, ser, I know but my own house fought for the Mad King and did not believe all he did was right or fair. I have heard Lord Redwyne speak of the true knights of the realm and it it said Lord Tarth is a true knight and a just lord.” 

“Shh. Sleep. I don't need lessons on politics from a page.”

“Goodnight, ser.” 

Ryam needed sometime to think. Maybe with some sleep, he could figure out what to do next. He had actually come here because of a storm that had blown them off course and when he realized they were on Tarth, he thought maybe this was the Seven helping him.

Lord Tarth had also been at the Tourney of Harrenhal. At the time, he knew most of the Lords in attendance were not content with Aerys and his rule, and more importantly were eager for Prince Rhaegar to be king. If Selwyn Tarth had any love for the dead Prince Rhaegar, Ryam hoped there might be a chance for him here.  
Ryam had heard the story of how Selwyn of Tarth had unhorsed Gerold Hightower and Robert Baratheon. All had thought he might win the day and be the one to crown the Queen of Love and Beauty. Later, he was unhorsed by Prince Rhaegar Targaryen. Selwyn Tarth had laughed and said the Prince could make it up to him with a song. Rhaegar had gladly sung him a song that night and had said Evenstar was a true knight. Or at least that was what he had been told .. Ryam had not stayed long at the Tourney of Harrenhal. 

 

Ryam had bought some henna to dye his hair darker outside the Kingswood, a few days after they left King’s Landing. It was there he and Wade had picked a name and a story for him, as they waited for his hair to darken. Ryam and Wade had thought long on it. It couldn’t be the Crownlands, the Stormlands, or Westerlands. He had squired at Crakehall, on the southern coast of the Westerlands and knew a great deal about the Reach. Being raised in the Reach would explain his knowledge of Houses, his knighthood, and his chivalry. He knew under the right eyes, they would see through what he was. Jaime Lannister. So, it was better to avoid any comparisons at all. If someone figured out he was Jaime Lannister, they might figure out who Nonnie was and all would be lost. Nonnie was Rhaenys Targaryen, the princess, who he had rescued out of King’s Landing. He needed to get her better and figure out where they are going from here and how they were going to get there.

When he had fled King’s Landing, he had stolen a small boat docked at the Red Keep and figured he might be able to get them to Dragonstone. Of course, Jaime Lannister had never sailed a boat across the open sea. It also was more of a small fishing boat for three men at most. Instead, he had sailed along the coast, trying to look like other refugees and seem inconspicuous. Nonnie had gotten sick on the third day and that had slowed things down. Then there was a small storm and when it was over, Tarth was in front of them. Now, he was trapped on an island in Robert Baratheon’s own lands. If he could get off this island, Jaime is sure he could get the Princess to Dorne. In Dorne, she would be safe. He couldn’t just hire anyone to take him to Dorne or he might wind up with a dagger in his belly and Nonnie would be in worse danger. He pushed the thoughts from his head and slept a dreamless sleep.


	2. Ned

Lord Eddard Stark sits by the fire after they set up camp in the Kingswood. They are at the Wendwater. The sound of the river calms him. He told Jon Arryn he would go as far as Massey’s Hook and see if he could find traces of a path, any evidence he wasn’t tracking some fantasy of the King. Either way, he will head to Dorne after he gets to Massey’s Hook. They have been following the coast for a few days. There has been no evidence of a Kingsguard with a Princess.   
Of course, Ned Stark doesn’t really know what that would look like, unless the Princess leaves a trail of red rubies, like her father’s body left in the Trident.

There has been hundreds, maybe thousands of people fleeing King’s Landing in the last few weeks. How easy would it be for one man and a child to get lost in a sea of people? Targaryens seem to be good at making people disappear. How quickly did Rhaegar make Lyanna disappear on the Kingsroad?

Ned uses a stone and sharpens Ice. The sound soothes him. It reminds him of his father and Brandon. In fact, when Jon Arryn returned Ice to him in the Tower of the Hand, privately on the morning he rode out, Ned felt the tears spring to his eyes. Ice was as much his father as his bones. When he touched the hilt, he felt peace and hope, as if his father would come home and House Stark would live on. King Aerys II had sent Lord Rickard and Brandon’s bones back to Winterfell, but Ned was sure they would never see the Valyrian greatsword that had been in his family since the Age of Heroes. To have it in his hand, was like having a piece of his family back. 

He had resigned himself that he was on a fool’s errand but soon, he would be headed to the Tower of Joy. Jon Arryn had told him that is where Lyanna was being held. Ned wondered why she was still being held. Rhaegar was dead a fortnight. Surely, there was no reason to keep his sister. But there were reasons. If she needed protection… She had been foolhardy and reckless her whole life and there was no reason to believe she had done something so reckless that she was in terrible danger.

Robert swears he wants Lyanna back to be his wife, dishonored or not, with or without her maidenhead. But, Ned has started to think that she should not be brought to King’s Landing to wed the new King Robert. He has seen the faces of the lords and heard their whispers that the King should not have to wait a year to marry to see if his lady whelps a dragon. Now, that there has been a war fought for her, he doubts he will be able to deny Robert his betrothed. Though after seeing the raped and murdered wife of Prince Rhaegar laid at the feet of Robert and his dead son, maybe Lyanna was right when she cried and said he would be a cruel husband and she an unhappy wife. 

Jon Arryn is holding Varys in the dungeons of the Red Keep until they can figure out some of the mysteries of the Sack of King’s Landing, like who killed Aerys II or where is the Princess Rhaenys? Jon had told him it was a sensitive task and the King only trusted him. Ned had reminded him that he was going to lead the troops and end the siege of Storm’s End. Jon told him he would have Lord Royce and the Blackfish go to Storm’s End.

“Do this for me and your King. Find the Princess or any trace of her. And then you can go to the Tower of Joy. I will give you extra men to go and get her for Robert.”  
“Why should I bring you another babe to murder?”  
“Ned, you are the only one who I trust to not hurt her? If you bring her back safely, maybe I can convince Robert to send her to Dorne.. Or at least marry her to Renly and leave them both at Dragonstone.”

Ned remembers thinking about this, holding his father’s sword.  
Jon spoke, calmly in his gravel voice, “Think on this, the only hostage we cannot find is Jaime Lannister of the Kingsguard. By all accounts, Aerys kept him close. If Jaime Lannister has the Targaryen child, she is in grave danger. Tywin Lannister has sent out his own men to find his son. The same men who breached the Red Keep and raped and killed Elia and Aegon. If Tywin gets to her first, there will be another dead child.”

“I will go.”

Ned reaches into his pocket. Today, by the shore, they found a burnt cottage, stinking bodies, clothes swinging on the line. Ethan Glover was the one who brought it to him. Ned had been concerned with bringing Glover into the Kingswood. He had wanted him to stay at King’s Landing, rest and eat. But Ethan would not be persuaded to heal. He protested that he had sat in a dungeon for almost nine months and he wouldn’t sit still any longer. 

It was a small black satin slipper, the size for a girls foot. The quality of the fabric and the fine stitches made him know it was the Princess’s slipper but when he looked he saw there were small rubies in the shoe. It appears the Princess did leave a trail of rubies like her father.


	3. Chapter 3

He startles awake, feels the man's’ hand tighten around his throat. It goes from being the dirty brigand with the cleft lip, who he found raping that girl in the Kingswood, to Rhaegar’s face, to his father’s. When the face of his father's’ sneer is too frightening, he wakes in a panic. knowing it was real and also it was a dream. Somewhere, his father is deeply disappointed in him. He has spoiled his plans, time and time again. Jaime feels his throat to make sure it was a dream and he's awake now.

Absently, he feels to the left of him for his sword and he finds Wade has crawled in the small bed, a thin dirty arm tossed over him. They had all gotten used to sleeping close on the road, danger was all around. Jamie looks up at the window and thinks his sword is probably on the floor, too far, too far. He needs to wake the boy and tell him never to do that again, remind him of how much danger they all are in. 

He opens one eye and sees the sun rising and realizes that he slept much too soundly last night. From the ache in the back of his skull, he could probably sleep another few hours before he was truly rested. Jaime has stretched himself too far while they were on the road and his body aches pitifully from the lack of food and sleep. Sometimes, he thinks he should have left Wade in the Red Keep. He would be ransomed by now and heading back to the Reach and his young mother. 

It had not been easy trip for them. At night, they would row to the shore, because Jaime did not trust the ship to hold them while they would sleep. He feared they would drown in their sleep into the dark waters. They would look for forest beach, wood, undisturbed shores. Wade would try to keep watch, but he would either grow fearful or fall asleep. Jaime had threaten to beat him if he fell asleep or woken him too soon to tell him another campfire story of a ghost lady or monster in the Reach that Wade was certain was lurking in the woods. Regardless of Jaime’s threats, the boy would fall asleep anyway, and so quickly that Jaime started wishing he had the same problem. Once they had fallen asleep and woken to a storm, except Wade never had. Wade slept soundly through it and woke in a puddle, wondering what had happened. Once, Wade had been mid-story of a ghost woman who led knights to their death in a haunted wood and had fallen asleep with a rock as a pillow.

Jaime and Wade would pull the boat to shore, tie the sails up, cover it in the brush and hope with the darkness, it would blend in the tree cover. By the fourth night of rowing, guarding, running, Jaime had fallen into a deep sound sleep. Wade had promised him he would keep watch. 

Jaime had woken to three bandits, soldiers who had fled whichever army. He had killed them as they attempted to steal the small amount of supplies. Nonnie had woken him that night. One of them had the leather bag. Inside the small leather bag, was Nonnie’s dragon ring, some gold coins, Jaime’s white cloak and his golden lion sigil. Enough to doom them all. After that night, he no longer slept longer than short spurts and it started affecting him. He was unable to think clearly and he had started seeing shadows on the shore. He knew they were fantasies, like fever dreams brought on from lack of sleep, images of Rhaegar, Arthur Dayne, even Tywin Lannister walked out of the brush on to the shores to look disapprovingly at him as he sailed on in the day. 

One night, as he lay the Princess in the boat, grounded on the shore and covered in brush, he told her the story of how he would make fairy forts for his sister when he was Wade’s age. He made Wade sleep in the boat, after the night where he slept through the soldiers. At least, he would wake if someone tried to get to Rhaenys. That night, while awake, Jaime had seen bugs crawl from the small fire and cover his skin. When he lept up, trying to brush them off, he knew he was going slightly mad. Later, he would see a wolf, a giant grey and silver creatures growling from the woods. He had never seen a wolf that big and he knew it was coming for him and the Princess. 

Wade was a kind boy and would often sing to the Princess lullabies that his mother sang to him, before he drifted into a full sleep. Sometimes they were rowdy camp songs, he had learned recently from his time as a page. Jaime had to remind him that it was not appropriate to sing songs like that to the Princess. Wade had taken to her like she was one of his numerous little brothers back home, teaching her how to fish or tie a knot, Nonnie, who had never lived so roughly, took Wade for what he was, kindness and care. 

Nonnie is curled up next to him with her small fingers touching his chest. She unwinds herself from the sheet in the night to get closer to him. She is a sweet child in the dawn and will be pretty, when she is older. She has Targaryen features, her father's lips, the wide eyes, his long fingers, Elia’s blue-black hair, her widow’s peak. Princess Elia had sensed the danger at the end and had slept with the Princess every night after Queen Rhaella was sent to the Dragonstone. He had been there with them on the dock and the Queen had kissed her grandchildren and told them they would all be together soon.

It is probably not proper that he sleep next to the Princess, but then she had been torn from her entire family in less than a fortnight and they are running. Her little fingers have dirt under the nails. He is ashamed how he has kept her, like a wild animal. Jaime knows she should have a nurse but he doesn’t know how he could keep one more person safe, as they travel. One more helpless hungry unarmed person who would know the truth about them while they make their way across the Stormlands.   
He wonders if they should have headed to Dragonstone to the Queen. He didn't think the ship would make it that far from the coast and made the choice that the Princess would be safer with her Uncles in Dorne than one a forsaken rock with no way off it. He hopes he doesn’t regret that decision someday. 

When she is like this, sleeping, one hand against him and one against her cheek, he wonders what it might be like to be a father. He had turned his back on that life, and sworn his life to protect the King and his family. Things hadn’t gone as he has planned, as he starts to go over the events of that one day in King’s Landing. But Fat Alyn’s voice bangs on the door and breaks his thoughts, “Wake up pretty boy. It is time to get up, your ladyship.”

Nonnie opens her eyes and yawns. He yells so that Alyn can hear him.“Alright, I'll be in the yard. “

He looks at the little girl, “Good morning Nonnie. Did you sleep well?”  
Wade is stretching behind him. “Wade, go to the kitchen and find the girl, Edie. I think she is the cook's daughter. Tell her to put you to good use. Take Nonnie with you and keep an eye on her. I have to help and I can't watch her, so I need you to be my eyes.” 

“I will watch her ser.” He started a litany, as he counted on his fingers, “Keep her from the fires. Watch her around the knives. If you go to the stables, keep her clear of horses. Away from boiling water or angry dogs. Don’t let her climb to high or near great heights...”

“Gods, let's not list the ways harm can befall her. Nonnie, stay with Wade. Wade, if it gets too much or if she gets sick, tell Edie it is the new place and she needs to rest. Bring her back here but don’t leave her alone.”

Wade looks at him with his big blue eyes. “Ser I have three younger brothers and a sister. I know how to watch for danger. I will keep her safe, I swear.” 

 

In the early morning, he helps the steward and some tradesmen repair the wall on the edge of the sea. It is mostly heavy lifting. A recent storm did damage and they must keep the sea wall repaired. Here, where no one know who he is, he is only good for his muscle and his knowledge of steel. The men take off their shirts as the sun grows warm. He does the same. Sweat, sun, sea air.   
Then, he eats some quick breakfast in the yard. Edie brings it to him, It is eggs and peppers scrambled with hard bread. She watches him eat, smiling. Her legs are dirty from the mud in the yard and she says nothing but she is all smiles.

Galladon and Todd tell him it is time to practice in the yard. Jaime has thought about this, to only show as much skill as necessary. He sizes up what the boy knows quickly. The boy is young but tall and strong, quick with good reflexes. He will be a fine knight someday. Todd is trickier but easier, because he can actually practice with a man. They spar back and forth. Jaime holding back, but enjoying the practice. When they are done, Jamie helps Todd up from the ground and pats Galladon on the back. Galladon waves at someone and Jaime looks up. On the stairs, watching, is Melissa, her niece Brienne, Edie and Nonnie. Several of the men also stopped to watch. Jaime thinks what he did carefully, nothing too spectacular. After all, he was teaching a seven year old. Why would the household stop to watch a practice? Maybe, Tarth is more lonely and isolated than he thought. 

He goes over to Edie and Nonnie. Nonnie raises her arms to be picked up. Jamie takes a towel that Edie offers and wipes the sweat from his face. Picking up Nonnie, he looks at her, “Hello Nonnie.”   
She put her thumb in her mouth and rests her head on his shoulder. Jaime asks, “Where is Wade?”  
“I sent him to help collect wood for the fireplace in the kitchen. I told him I would watch her. You were wonderful with your sword. I found an old dress for Nonnie from one of the household staff. She is a pretty child.”

He smiles at Edie and looks at Nonnie, “Yes, she is.”

 

Melissa walks down the stairs, holding a water skin. Handing it to him, she speaks, “Edie, get back to work. Yes, Ser Ryam, you are very good with that sword. Now, I must go into town. I need to get to the Sept. You and Alyn will escort me.”

Laughing to himself, women are funny with their jealousy. He is a noone, a bastard hedge knight. All he has is a sword, not even a horse. One of them is a lady. The other a kitchen wench but both should take one look at him and realize he was not worth it. The rebellion has taken quite a few eligible young men, but not nearly enough to make a bastard hedge knight seem like a good decision. However, he doesn’t mind the attention, it makes things seem more normal.

He hands Nonnie off to Edie, looking for Wade and cursing the boy but he could think of no good reason why he could refuse his job so he handed her to Edie, and smiled his best smile for the two of them. He washed his face and hands and followed the Lady Melissa into the stables to ride. 

As they rode, Jaime enjoyed how good it was to be on a horse in the fresh air. He longed to see if the horse would run out in the countryside. Watching Melissa, he could see the way her eyes burned, how much she wanted to take the horse out and really ride. Maybe, in the next few days, they could go out. He could protect her from any danger… Or maybe they would let him go out and ride by himself. Perhaps, he could make a deal with Bryce, the stable master and see if he could ride the horses for him in the dawn, in a few days after he could catch up on his sleep. 

They ride into the town. Alyn is teasing Ryam telling him that he is too pretty and he, Fat Alyn, will have to take care of all three of them. Jaime looks at him, “Have no fear, ser. I might be easy on the eyes, but no sword is not duller because of it.” 

The town looks like a village compared to Lannisport or King’s Landing but Jaime sees that it is a good sized town, with docks and ships, taverns, brothers, blacksmiths and a small market. In the center of town is a Sept with blue and green stained glass windows and white stone walls. When they get close, he sees it is decorated with seashells and ocean stones. There are three sets of huge wooden doors in the front, all painted bright blue, like the sea and the sky. On the side of the Sept is a small house, where the Septon lives and a tent where the poor is lining up, already for lunch. 

Melissa tells Alyn to tie up the horses and she gestures to Ryam to follow her. She pushes the door open and walks in. It is dark and cool, compared to the outside heat. Blue green glass patterns shine across the floors and walls. In each alcove, a statue of one of the Seven can be found. The Father has a trident in his hand and a net, The Mother, has patterns of sea plants and fishes over her dress, The Stranger looks like a sea monster with sea creature teeth and tentacles. The Maiden’s face is black with a white dress made of pearls and sea-shells. 

 

She kneels before each one and says her prayers. He does not feel much like praying but when she kneels at the Mother, he does say a silent pray thanking her for keeping them safe.   
Melissa says nothing to the Stranger but bows quickly. Jaime lingers, wishing if he should offer a prayer or thanks, but decides against it.

The Septon is named Karl and he is a short, fat man with a caring smile. He takes Melissa hands in his and says his blessings over her and her family. She introduces him to Ryam and Septon Karl blesses him.

Septon Karl is a gossip and immediately sits down with Melissa and starts talking about what he has heard from the War, as well as local gossip from Tarth. Fat Alyn has drifted in behind him and Jaime wonders how such a large old man could be so quiet or maybe Jaime is distracted with the talk of King’s Landing. 

Septon Karl tells of how King Aerys was tricked by his old friend and old Hand, Tywin Lannister. Letting him in the gates, thinking he was a friend, Lannister ordered his troops to sack, rape and pillage the smallfolk of King’s Landing. How this godless man had some men break into the Red Keep and smash the baby Prince Aegon’s head against a wall and then kill Princess Elia. How King Aerys was found stabbed on the steps to the Iron Throne and some speculated that Tywin was the one himself who had killed the King. Some said the King was killed by one of the victims of his fiery delight, a ghost seeking revenge had stabbed King Aerys. 

Melissa looks visibly upset by the story and the Septon apologizes. They go to feed the poor and the refugees and while Jaime and Alyn watch on, Alyn cleans his nails with a knife and starts picking his teeth. “Lord Selwyn is good master, a fine lord but he lets his sister have too much freedom. His father wouldn’t have liked this, the Lady of the House feeding the rabble. What does that tell the people?”   
Jaime speaks softly, “It shows them that she is pious and probably bored.”

Alyn laughs and Jaime joins in. “She is a good girl. I have known her when she was as young as your niece, a small little thing, collecting kittens under her bed and riding that horse like she was Dornish, nearly off the cliffs. We will miss her when she goes off to Mistwood.”

Alyn continues, “I heard a story about the Dornish princess. I heard that after the men killed Aegon, they raped her. She pulled her own eyes out in grief but they kept raping her, those Lannister pricks, raped her one after another, eyeless screaming, covered in blood until one got sick of it and sliced her throat.” 

Jaime feels the pommel of his sword. They raped her, sweet Princess Elia who only had smiles, laughter and music, and the unfortunate luck to be in the Red Keep. His mouth goes dry and his stomach drops. How could he have left her? It is a flashback of moments, sudden quick to the beat of his heart. He had Wade run to the hall as he gathered the Princess, to keep watch, to see if they could get them. He made a choice, stay and them all die or run and keep one of the children safe. There was no other solution, but suicide and surrender. 

“Do you think that Lion fuck let his men rape the Prince Rhaegar’s wife?” 

“Yes. I think he did. Lord Tywin knew what they were capable of and he gave the order.”As he says the words, he feels the his mouth go numb.

Of course, his father did that. Aerys took his heir and all his chance for grandchildren to carry his name. He would take Aegon and Rhaenys too. Except Rhaenys had slipped through Tywin’s grasp. 

“It’s not right.”  
“No. It's not..”

“If he is willing to do that to Princess Elia, what will happen to Queen Rhaella and Prince Viserys?”

Jaime can’t speak, so he walks away.

 

On the way back, Melissa tries to get him to tell her of his family, his life in the Reach, of Wade. He doesn’t feel like speaking, these simple flirtations seem empty to him. His mind races over the things he learned. How many men? How many had a turn? He feels sick and he goes into the corner of his mind, riding in silence.   
It is like waking when he enters the yard of Evenfall Hall. In the yard, Galladon plays with wooden swords with a much older boy, while Wade sits on the wall, yelling out techniques and helpful tips. Nonnie is sitting next to him in the red dress and a little tow headed girl that has a small wooden sword sits next to her.  
He hears Melissa, as she dismounts, call to the girl. “Brienne, where is Nurse?”

 

Galladon stops, “It’s fine. I told her I would watch her. We are just playing.”  
Wade is whispering to Nonnie, pointing towards Jaime and he hands the reins to the stable hand. Nonnie reaches her hands toward him, smiling and she is in his arms, “How was your day, little miss?” 

He feels Wade climb on his back and soon he is tickling children, carrying them to wash their faces and hands before dinner. Wade has brought them all a change of clothes for dinner, nothing too fancy, mostly wool and linen. A blue dress for Nonnie, a blue tunic for Wade and a bigger tunic for Ryan, clothes for the personal household. Today there was a messenger from King’s Landing, Selwyn of Tarth should be home in a fortnight or less time   
He is weary and hungry and will worry about what will happen after he sleeps tonight. Another eight hours of sleep and he will be better. Alyn was teasing him that he would need to take a guard shift soon. 

At dinner, he is exhausted but well pleased. For the first time in so long, he was useful, productive, so much more than a valuable hostage, standing behind a madman. He is tired and he can see it in the children that they are as well.   
As dinner plates are being removed, musicians begin to play some slow sad song. Melissa asks him shyly. Ser Ryam, do you know how to dance? No one here can dance and I am too be married. How will I dance on my wedding without practice?”  
“I'm sure Mikkah of Mistwood is a fine husband and will care not if you step on his feet.” He teases her.  
“That would be terrible.”   
“Mikkah Mertyn will be glad to be married to you. It is not your feet he will be thinking about at your wedding feast. I am certain,” Fat Aly chortles.   
“I think you speak too familiar to me, ser. This is not the Reach here.” But she is smiling behind her blush. I think you don’t know how to dance and so you speak rudely to deter me.”

“I had lessons. My father paid for lessons.” 

She looks at him. Questions bubbling up between them. He never tells her information about himself and she is hungry to know anything about him. Jaime curses silently that he would let the truth slip.

He brushes the crumbs from his lap, before he stands and drains the wine in his glass. He looks at the musicians, “Something light and cheery. I have heard ladies like to spin and I mean to spin the lady.”

Jaime walks around the table and extends his arm, so that she will take his hand. Leading her to the center of the floor where there is space to move, he hears the song start. 

Softly, he puts his hand on her waist. Melissa is looking at his eyes, smiling. 

“Are you ready, my lady?”  
He whispers, close to her. Women like soft whispers, close like promises or secrets. Their eyes go bright. At least Cersei does. Remembering Cersei and the last morning he saw her. They are in Harrenhal, eating breakfast with each other and their father. Tywin only has eyes for the papers in front of him and Jaime can’t stop looking at Cersei. She is beautiful and vain but he can’t stop looking at her or thinking of how she looked above him in the dawn early in the morning. He remembered how his heart literally ached when he looked at her that day. Leaning into her to whisper in her ear. “Tonight, you are mine.” 

She lets a giggle escape and when she looks at him, he knows she loves him as much as he loves her. They had plans to be together forever. Plans never seemed to work out like they had hoped.

Melissa’s eyes are bright and she nods, confirming Jaime’s theories on women and whispers. 

She nods and they dance. Her body is tight with anxiety and he can tell she is counting steps, holding her breath. He wishes her to relax and stop counting. Jaime Lannister has spent two years counting his steps and holding his body tight with anxiety. It is a terrible way to live. Looking in her eyes, he says with a laugh. “My lady, stop counting. You are supposed to enjoy this. Dance with me.”  
She laughs and he pulls her tighter and they dance. He dances with her until she can’t stop laughing and Jaime finds he likes her smiling the most. She is almost pretty when she smiles. The rest of the night is devoted to dancing and laughter. He dances with each of the serving girls, Edie, the nurse, the Septa. Tom Liddle dances with his wife. Fat Alyn is dancing with one of the cooks. Even Maester Roland and shy Todd dance with Melissa once. He even takes Nonnie and Brienne once around for each of them.

When they are done, Alyn offers him to go with him and drink ale in the guard house but he begs off because he is tired. Jaime guides the children to their room, washes their faces and hands and climbs onto the straw mattress. Their first day is done. 

 

That night, he falls asleep again into a deep, mercifully dreamless sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

On the second dawn, Jaime smells the sea wind from the small window and believes for a second that he is at Casterly Rock and the last two years have all been a bad dream. The morning air is cool and heavy with the smell of salt and the sea. He opens his eyes and confirms, with a hint of regret, that he is in Evenfall Hall on Tarth.

He could never smell the sea over the stench of King's Landing. The Great Hall smelled of wildfire and burned flesh. That smell seeped in his clothes, in his hair, in his skin. No soap or fragrance could cover it. A charnel house. Never of the sea. But here he has a chance to be reminded of his childhood and how lovely it was. 

He looks to his left and Nonnie is sucking her thumb, playing with the edge of the blanket. Wade is curled up like a cat at their feet. Instead of moving the sword, he decided to sleep at their feet. At least, he recognizes the danger.

For a second, he wishes to go back to his dream, where he is safe in the Rock, and still believing in all the things that had led him to be a knight in the Kingsguard; Honor, Duty, his Strength, his Sword, Chivalry, Cersei. More than anything, he wishes he could write her a letter and tell her he is safe, knowing how she would be worried to hear he has disappeared. But the risk is too great. He will send her a message, later, after Nonnie is safe.

Looking down at the Princess, he closes his eyes and does an internal assessment of his body. His shoulders and arms still ache from rowing, but he likes the feel of sore muscles. His lips and sunburn hurt, but they are so much better after two good nights of sleep. He is starting to feel like himself and less like a madman. 

They have some money in the sack. Perhaps in a day or two, he could go down to the village and buy passage on a ship to Dorne. He needs to let Nonnie rest and get some food in her. 

When they were out there, all he could think of was the story of Maelor Targaryen and his Kingsguard, Rickard Thorne. He remembered the story from his Maester’s history lessons, how Maelor had been smuggled out of King’s Landing during the civil war, known as the Dance of the Dragons. Rickard Thorne had been given the three year old prince and heir to the Iron Throne with one command, to get him to the safety of his mother’s family in Oldtown. They had travelled to Bitterbridge, quietly and quickly, in secret. At Bitterbridge, the smallfolk had learned who the travellers were. The mob tore Maelor into pieces, each trying to grab a piece for love, for money, for whatever reasons mobs have. Thorne died there, as well. Jaime needs to get Rhaenys to Dorne.

He opens his eyes. It is morning and it looks to be a fair day. The Princess is alive. Those are three things he can be grateful for. They are safe and hidden for now. In a few days, he will buy them passage and get them back on their journey. He closes his his and tries to get a few more minutes of rest, trying to push all his thoughts out of his head. 

Instead, his mind wanders to the girl raped in the woods. How her cries reminded him of the Queen’s cries, behind a thick oaken door. Terrible sounds. It had been dusk and they had been sailing about a hundred yards from the shore through reeds. There had been three men, deserters or bandits and a small girl of fifteen or so. Nonnie had been sleeping in the boat, but Wade had looked at him with his big blue eyes, pleading for him to act. Jaime had pressed a finger to his lips, as they sailed wordless through the water. The men each took turns, while one of them threatened to slice her nose or shove his sword into her cunt, if she wouldn’t stop crying. Jaime had every intention of sailing past. But he hadn’t. He had risked everything stupidly and sailed to shore, killing the men.. The girl thanked them crying. But Jaime had found himself angry with the girl because she had needed saving.  
Later when they were back in the boat, Wade had spoken and said, “Knights protect the weak. You did a brave thing, ser.”  
“A stupid thing, Wade. That man almost killed me. Then where would you be? Where would she be?”  
Wade had looked at the darkening water and poked his stick in it. He was quiet and watching the waves. After a few minutes, Wade spoke, barely more than a whisper. “It was the right thing for a knight to do.” 

His thoughts are broken by Fat Alyn is banging on the door, “Time to wake up your ladyship. No more dreams of dancing and princes. There is work to be done, your lovelyship.”

Jamie calls out to him that he will be down in five minutes. He hears Wade laughing from the jape. Then, he feels Nonnie crawl across him to get to the bottom of the cot, so she can play with Wade. He listens to Wade ask her how she slept, if she is hungry, what color dragon would she choose, how many days it will take to get to Sunspear by ship.. She does not answer him in words but he knows that they have a language of their own. Like twins might, like he and Cersei have, however in this case, the boy is always speaking and the girl is always quiet. 

He gets up and starts the day. Tarth is preparing to celebrate a yearly festival. Feast of the Black Maiden falls at the end of the week and Evenfall holds a feast for the landed knights and minor lords. He helps clean and hang banners, polish swords, move things from the yard to storage. Edie’s mother tells him as he steals cakes from the kitchen that there is much to celebrate this year. “Lord Robert Baratheon is King on the Iron Throne and Lord Tarth, the Evenstar, is safe and will be returning home soon. Gods save the King.”

After practicing, Melissa asks him to accompany them to the small rocky cove where Galladon and Melissa go out everyday to swim. There is a small cove where the current isn’t too strong and the rocks break the waves. Melissa wears breeches and a man’s shirt, tied with a belt. Tight.  
“Are you going to swim with us and Todd? Old Alyn stays here on the wall. Are you craven too? Or do you not know how to swim?” 

“My lady, I grew up on the sea. I can swim.” 

He takes off his leather, his tunic and dives in. The water is the prettiest blue he has seen, and warmer than he had expected. Todd and Melissa are strong swimmers, having grown up here in Tarth. Jaime had forgotten how much joy there is in the sea. The water is so blue and clear here that he can see the fish swim under his feet.  
Todd speaks, “Care to race, ser. See that stone out there in the mouth of the cove where it opens to the sea. To there and back..”

Jaime has never refused a test of physical strength and agrees.They swim. Todd comes in first place. He is more porpoise than man, gliding through the water. Melissa and him are close. Jaime is pushing himself to keep up to her strong sure strokes. Todd calls Melissa the winner. Galladon comes last but only by a few moments. The boy will be the strongest, biggest man alive when he is old enough to be a knight. He has only known one man bigger. 

He hears Fat Alyn laugh, “Beaten by a woman, Flowers. How does that feel?”

“The lady has bested me and I submit willingly.” He teases. But before Melissa wraps in a cloak, Jaime catches a glimpse of the skin beneath the wet shirt, cream turned flush from exertion. He catches himself thinking of the rest of her body under all those wet clothes. He reminds himself to dress and distract himself. 

By the third day, Jaime hears the knock on the door and Fat Alyn’s gruff voice, “Get up pretty boy. Enough beauty sleep, princess.” 

He calls back..”Old man, I think you are in love with me.. I will be down.” 

He hears Alyn’s laugh in the hallway. Jaime laughs silently in his arm. It is all so much better than it ever was at the Red Keep. He understands this.. a sword, a job, to protect to serve to be vigilant and faithful. He is part of the household, needed respected, valued for what he does and how he acts

On the morning of the fourth day, he wakes to the dream of Cersei's warm mouth against him. She is sweet and burning, demanding he swear everything to her, intense and proud. Naked and whispering filthy things.He is burning with shame and desire when he wakes, rock hard against the mattress. He hasn’t dreamed about Cersei in a month or more. 

It is a good sign. He is recovering. Before there was only wild fire and treason, only burning and death. Now, he has three meals a day and rest, hard work and exercise. He wants to think of beautiful Cersei and how she took him in her mouth before she pushed him on the mattress and guided him into her. He wants to touch himself but he doesn’t.

There is no privacy. He has never had to share a room since he was little. Even in the White Tower, he had his own rooms. Now, he constantly has children.

Wade is doing better, as well. Most importantly, Nonnie hasn’t vomited once since they arrived. The women in the kitchen have taken to her. They think she is a poor child. Lost without a mother and a father who abandoned her. They have taken to Jaime like he's some hero for taking his niece in. They have found her some old dresses and someone cut her hair, so that it is more even. 

The women take turns making sure the children are washed and fed, while he works. Galladon and Wade have become friends and all the women have a different remedy to make Nonnie speak. He smiles and listens, nodding but knows she will speak when she is able. He does remember her speaking in sentences at the Red Keep. He remembers when she said goodbye to her father and she had clearly said she hoped he would return home soon. Then she said, I love you and Rhaegar had hugged his daughter with such affection that Jaime wondered what it would be like to be so well-loved. She will speak again.

He wonders could this have been Casterly Rock for him, the simple monotony, the birth of a foal, repairing walls, dancing at dinner, knowing the names of the household, the smell of bread, trusting you are safe. If he had stayed his father’s heir, could he have had this simple safe life. Probably not. He was Tywin Lannister’s son and nothing could ever be safe for him.

On the fourth day, Fat Alyn and the steward, Tom take him to Ser Harold’s rooms. A thin old man with a terrible cough, propped up with pillows. He must have been sick for some time because he seems to only be bones and a whisper voice. 

He asks to see Jaime and asks him a few questions. Fat Alyn speaks of how he has been helpful and a good swordsman. Ser Hugh seems unimpressed, especially because he is from the Reach, but says he can stay and the Evenstar will decide if he can remain.

Jaime feels that it is another small victory.

When he gets to the yard, Melissa has her horse, saddled and ready. She has a black gelding that he rode a few days ago also readied. “Would you like to accompany me for a ride, ser? I need to collect some things for the Feast.”

He is in the saddle, before he speaks the words, “Yes, my lady.” 

As soon as they are past the gate, that faces the rolling green countryside, dotted with sheep, they ride hard. It is him and the horse, and both of them want free of the walls. Jaime sees Melissa’s face, as she rides, and he knows that she feels the same as him. The desire to ride away on the back of a horse, faster than the wind. He lets her take the lead because he doesn’t know the way and she wants it more than him.

They ride into a large verdant green field. In the center of the field, is one huge lone weirwood tree. It is covered in crimson leaves and its thick branches snake in a tangle toward the sky. It is the largest tree has ever seen and it could be a thousand years old. 

She slows her horse and then jumps down. She ties it to the branches and Jaime follows her lead. He asks her, “What is this place?”

“They say that when the Andals fought the First Men for Westeros, this field was covered in weirwoods, hundred of them. This was a holy spot for the Children of the Forest and they wrought bountiful harvests and terrible magic here. When the first Lord Tarth came, there was a terrible battle, but the first Lord Tarth knew that if their weirwood was cut, victory would be theirs. This one was left because the King’s daughter thought it was so beautiful one must stay.

But the first Evenstar would not profit and sell the wood like some Kings might. He would not burn it like others. Instead he hacked the wood to pieces and had it strewn upon the ground. Two decades passed and when his son was the Evenstar, he came to the field and discovered a truth. The wood remained.” She reaches into the grass and pulls out a piece of ancient white wood. “As long as it stays here, it never decomposes.”

Jaime looked at her skeptically and a half smile on his face. He did not disagree with her. After all, he was not from here, but wood that doesn’t break down. It was the stuff of children’s tales. 

“Part of the tradition of the Feast of the Black Maiden, we collect pieces of the weirwood and everyone places a piece of the wood under their pillow. They say maidens dream of who they will marry. Some dream of the future. Some of the past. Some have no dreams. Regardless, if you sleep with it under your pillow, it is good luck for the whole year Then, we come and put the pieces back so that we can do it next year.” 

“What kind of dreams have you had my lady?”

“I have never had a dream, but tradition is tradition, Ser Ryam. Now help me collect.”

They collect a whole bag of pieces, white shards of time past, magic. The shards make a hollow melody in the bag that sounds sweet. Jaime finds the stillness of the field comforting though the tree’s face does make him feel like he is being watched. The sky darkens quickly. Within moments, there is a sudden storm, the kind Tart is known for, raining sheets of water upon them.

They find refuge under the canopy of the weirwood tree. They sit by the trunk watching the rain. He listens to her speak of her childhood, what they will serve at the feat, the letter she received from Mikkah Mertyn, the refugees... 

“Tell me of your family in the Reach. I know so little about you.”

He feels awkward but after some hesitation begins. “My father is a lord of a keep in the Reach.”

“By the sea.. “

“By the sea… My mother was a poorer second cousin, who had always loved my father and my father had always loved. My father had been betrothed to marry a lady of more means. It was a good match his father made for him. They were married and had a few children. But he always came back to my mother. First, she had my sister, Then me.. Then, she had my brother. We lived in a house by the sea, built for her. We stayed there until my mother died. I was seven. My father was never the same.”

He tells her the story, alternating between looking in her eyes and the grass beneath him. He tries to make it as true as possible. Silently, he regrets lying. There is no other choice. It is safer for her, safer for everyone.

She takes his silence as sadness. I'm sorry, Ser. I shouldn't have pressed. We just get so few new people. People from faraway. 

She touches his hand on the grass. It is almost as big as his. He likes the feel of it.

On the fifth day, he lays down in the morning, after working a night shift of guarding the gate. As he lays down, Edie arrives with sausage and potatoes, hot, crispy brown and delicious. 

“I've come to get the children so you can sleep, Ser Ryam.”  
“Thank you.”  
“Do you need anything?”

He drains the glass of cider she brought him. “No, this is fine. Wonderful.” 

When he wakes, he goes down to the yard, Nonnie is playing with Brienne with swords. “What are you playing?”

“She is Rhaenys Targaryen and I am Aegon. We are flying our dragons and fighting battles.”  
“Shouldn’t you be Visenya, my Lady Brienne?”  
She makes a face, crinkling her solemn face. “No, I prefer Aegon.”  
He laughs at the glimpse of Nonnie with a ring of rope for a crown and a toy sword. The girls are like day and night; one is tall, blonde and freckled cream, the other small, dark and clear olive skin. Nonnie reaches for him and as he picks her up. He allows himself to speak with a soft smile, “Hello Rhaenys, your grace. How are you today?”

She smiles and hugs him. He looks down at Brienne and picks up a toy sword. “Then who shall I be?’”

Melissa is in the yard, feeding her dog and her ducks. He hears her laugh “Why, ser... You should be Orys Baratheon.”

He swings the wooden sword playfully wanders toward her, smiling.

“Good morning my Lady,” he says.

“I want to show you something,” she says playfully. 

Melissa shows him a pocket sewn in her dress. In it, her kitten sleeps. He laughs at the sight of it. She laughs gently with him. She is nothing like Cersei. In fact, he has never known a lady like her. Absently, he catches her pressing her hand on his chest but she pulls it away as soon as she realizes. When they swim later in the day, Jaime wins easily in the race and wonders if she let him. He catches her looking at him and when he looks back at her, her face is flushed. On this night, his nightmares return.


	5. Chapter 5

His nightmare is of Princess Elia. She is more a demon than woman. All rage and bitterness. She rises from the stone floor, like she had been laying in the darkness all along, while he slept peaceful. He fears he might never sleep again before checking the floor. Clutched to her breast is bloody mess that once was a laughing baby. One of her eyes has been pulled out and hangs by a thread and there is a slash all black, across her throat, where he sees the rotting flesh beneath the skin 

“You swore you would protect us. You promised my husband you would keep us safe. Another Kingsguard would have come.. Would have faced your father’s men.. Would have saved us.. Who will protect her now? You? You are a coward clothed in a white. The King only named you to the Kingsguard to ruin your father The mountain is coming Jaime Lannister to fall on you and the Princess.” 

She lifts the child which is stirring from her breast. It is mewling though Jaime doesn’t know how because its head is smashed and there is no face, no mouth. Pieces of flesh keep sloughing off the thing onto the floor. 

He wants to speak but his throat is tight. He reaches for his sword but it is gone. 

Elia approaches, “ You have risked everything for nothing. You will be found. Already your father’s men come closer. Nothing will keep her safe. Her mother and father are dead. They will never rest until you are both found. They will never stop until her body is wrapped in a Lannister cloak. Will you turn her over, you craven boy? The dead know what you did, Lannister. The dead know. One day, you will be known as a Kingslayer, forever known as the Kingslayer.”

He wakes with a start. The room is quiet and the only light is from moonlight. He touches his sword first and feels the small warm weight of Rhaenys next to him. She is breathing softly and Jaime listens to each breath, as he thinks on the dream. 

He keeps going back to when they took Nonnie to the healer. On the side of the small house was a dark room where her ancient grandmother told fortunes. The old women had beckoned him in the dark room. Carrying Nonnie and with the prodding of Wade, the old woman said she would do it for free for a taste of his blood. He remembers her words, as he tried to go to sleep. 

In the morning, he wakes to Wade with a duckling in the bed, cupping it in his hands.. Nonnie is petting it with one finger. It is black and yellow and quacking loudly. “Wade…”   
“Yes, ser.”  
“Why do we have a duck inside on our bed?”  
“Isn't she lovely, ser? I want to name her Floris.. But I think Nonnie wants to name her Meraxes.”

Jaime cracks his eye open, “Did she tell you that?”

“Not in words, but I know.”

Today is the Feast of the Black Maiden and the town below Evenfall has sprouted tents with vendors hawking their wares. When he gets to the kitchens, the household staff is rushing around with pigs, eel, and ducks cooking over the fires. The tables are being pulled out and linens of red and blue are being placed on top of them in the hall. The steward calls for Wade’s help and he looks to Jaime and runs off, after he releases him with a nod. 

Galladon cannot practice today. He is being bathed and prepared for the feast. After all, he is the heir to Evenfall. There is nothing to do so he helps where he can. He dresses and tries to stay out of the way. Edie comes to tie ribbons in Nonnie’s hair, bright blue silk, faded after years. Now these ribbons are only good for the staff’s orphaned children. Nonnie loves them anyway and twirls around. She also brings her a bright blue dress with moons and stars. Secretly, he wanted to dress her as a boy for the feast but he could not think of a reason why that would not lead to suspicion or talk. 

In the late afternoon, they go to the rocky beach between the village and the castle. They stand there as the fat septon and four acolytes carry the statue down to the sea. They are all in black roughspun. The maiden has been decorated with jewelry made from coral and seashells. Flowers and berries weaved in wreaths about her head and feet. Like she was a bride of the First Men. A wild goddess, not the gentle patient Maiden.   
They watch the men carry her into the sea. When her head has disappeared under the waves, her wreath floats on the waves out toward the open sea, toward Essos, the crowd cheers. Then, the septon and the acolytes carry her back to the Sept.

They walk to the vendors and tents in the village. There is word that an acting troupe has come to Tarth and Lady Melissa hopes to see a scene or two before she must get back for the feast at the castle. Jaime walks fast to catch up to her. When she sees him, she smiles. 

“What does all of that mean, my lady?”

“Here in Tarth, we call her the Black Maiden. She bathes once a year in the Sapphire Sea. When she comes out of the water, all sins and grief is washed away. We start fresh, a new beginning. The harvest will be good. Sheep will birth twins. The fishermen’s nets will be full.  
The smallfolk have their own feasts and we let them have it. They say sometimes couples go out in the fields and amid the fires they lay with each other.” 

Galladon and Wade rush up to him. “Ser, Galladon says there is a strong man bending swords and someone breathing fire.. Can we go? I will be with him.”

Melissa looks to Todd to follow and Jaime hands him a few pennies. He bends down. “Here are a few pennies. Don’t spend them all. Share. Listen to Todd.” 

Melissa takes Brienne’s hand and Brienne takes Nonnie’s hand and they continue walking. They walk around the small fair and Jaime tries to forget the dream and the feeling of dread. As they are head back toward the castle, Wade and Galladon come back. He has a sweet for Nonnie and two wooden knights, one red and one blue. Nonnie smiles so sweetly, as Wade hands her the blue knight. She lets Brienne’s hand go and takes Wade’s. He starts to tell them of all his adventures with Galladon and all the things they saw. 

 

When they arrive back at Evenfall, the guests have begun arriving. Melissa rushes off with Galladon to quickly prepare and come down to greet the sworn banners of Tarth, the minor lords or landed knights that were too old or young to fight, rich merchants. He leaves Wade with Nonnie in their room with instructions to stay in the room. 

When Ser Ryam Flowers comes to the feast, Tom chides him when he heads toward the upper tables. Instead, the steward points to the tables on the outside of the hall. For the first time in his life, he is seated below the salt. Even when he was Lord Crakehall’s squire, he never sat so faraway. 

Fat Alyn and Todd wave him over and he sits with the other soldiers, drinking too much wine. The food is still good and the wine still pours freely. 

When the music starts, Jaime sees her dance with each lord that asks, in a dress as blue as her eyes . She is as tall or taller than most of them. He likes how she looks up at the big table, her smile, her warmth. After the seventh or eighth dance, he drains the glass of wine in front of him and goes to ask her to dance, unthinking.  
Melissa blushes when he gets to the main table. He realizes he has made a mistake and that he is in his cups. Everyone is looking at them, an unknown hedge knight dancing with the lady of the keep. She smiles at him, as they dance. Absently, she says, “Your hair is growing blonde in the sun and the sea. Ser Ryam, you will be as blonde as me in a few weeks.”

His smile never wavers, but the urge to touch his hair is so great. He panics and starts to check the exits, as casually as he can, reminding himself they are safe. When the dance is finished, the grease from the duck and all the wine he has drunk makes him feel sick. He hears people talking about who he is and where he has come from. 

Stumbling into the garden to get away from the gossip, he sees Elia’s face from the nightmare. He can't stop seeing it. He is trapped here and he can no longer breathe. All his plans are collapsing. All is lost. He remembers the ancient woman’s words.

Melissa approaches. He looks up and he feels his heartbeat quicken. Perhaps, she reminds him of Cersei. He almost laughs. She is blonde and her hair is long that is all the similarities. Why does he feel a sudden desire for her. 

“Ser, I understand why you might be shy in front of all those people. Would you like to dance here? We can still hear the music..” 

“Do you have any kittens in your pockets?”

She laughs and shakes her head. “ No, ser. There are no kittens.”

“How can I refuse?” he smiles. The music from the hall is faint. They can hear the cheers from the small folk in the village, and the roar of the waves. In the moonlight, they sway, too close, too drunk.  
She is too kind, too sweet. He prays that Mikkah Mertyn of Mistwood is a good man, that he has no dreams of King's Landing or being in the court. King’s Landing holds only death. She needs to be safe here. He has put this place and all these people in terrible danger.

She is too tall, too ungainly, but in that moment, he kisses her. It is soft and sudden. He expects her to pull away, to slap him, to protest. Instead, she wraps her arms around him. She is the third woman he kissed. He is a thief; she belongs to another man. The urge to kiss her again and again is so urgent. Gently, he steps back,”Go to bed my lady. The hour grows late and your honor is at risk.” 

Then, he flees to the yard. Fat Alyn is there, drinking wine from a pitcher. He pours Jaime a glass and he drains it quickly. Edie comes and finds him.. Her mouth tasted like wine and her shoulder tasted salty like the ocean. She was skinny but her breasts were full. He had drunk too much wine and when she climbed into his lap, he wondered how good she would feel.   
He fumbles under her skirt and beneath her small clothes. She is hot and so wet and makes a small sound that is achingly sweet. 

“It's okay, ser. I would like to with you.”   
He pulls away from their kisses. Her eyes are bright and her face is flushed.  
“You deserve much more than the grass and stars. You deserve a bed with linen sheets and a door which we can shut and be alone. Gods, I want to be alone with you.”   
He doesn’t know where the words come from, but as he hears them he knows they are not for her  
He thinks how each word was for Cersei, but he isn’t sure if that is the truth. He is a knight and a member of the Kingsguard. He pushes himself up and apologizes.

“I am sorry. I forgot.. Who I was. Forgive me..” he apologizes.

Jaime heads back to the room where he sleeps with the children. When he gets there, he sees Wade and Nonnie sleeping on Wade’s mat on the floor. He shuts the door quietly and lays his head down. Shouldering the pillow, he rubs the shard of weirwood under it.

 

In the morning, Jaime wakes with a dry mouth and an aching head. His own fault for drinking so much he thinks to himself. He opens his eyes and Wade is staring at him.

“Ser, what did you dream last night?”

“What did you dream, Wade?”

“I dreamed I was a Lord, sworn to the King and to Nonnie. Nonnie was the Queen. She was married to her brother, and I was in the Great Hall at the Red Keep. Nonnie’s husband named me the Hand of the King. Nonnie had an Aunt and they all had dragons. It was just a silly dream, no fortune telling, no prophecy.” 

“What makes you so sure?”

“Because Nonnie had married her brother, like Targaryens do... Her brother is dead, but also the king had dark hair like her. Aegon’s hair was silver. Nonnie doesn’t have any Aunts. Prince Rhaegar only has a brother and Princess Elia only had brothers. Most importantly, dragons are extinct and have been for over a hundred years. Just a silly dream. What did you dream ser?”

“I didn’t dream of the future either,” he said.

His dream had been of the ancient witch who pricked his finger and sucked it greedily. The woman had tasted his blood and her eyes had gone cloudy and faraway. “You are at a crossroads boy - Two choices are laid out before you- either return to your family and father three golden children who will never love you or go to the South and raise three children that will be golden and love you like a father but are never yours.”

“The quiet wolf is stalking you. He comes in the darkness, circling. You will face him again and again. There is a mountain raining down with red blood and rage and he is coming in fury to find you. You must find refuge for the girl is what he seeks.” 

“Go to the Red Tower. What you seek is there..”


	6. Chapter 6

Ned is looking over the sea. Several days ago he met a healer in a small town. She described a good looking hedge knight with a very sick little girl. She had a sour stomach. He had a boy with him and they travelled in a rough little boat, though none of them looked like they could manage it. 

The healer women had spoke, “He paid me a gold dragon for water food, medicine for the girl. I told him it was too much. My mother spoke to them.

Ned had gone to the back of the cottage to an old woman smoking a pipe. In the darkness, she had laughed to see him. “I have been waiting for you. You are looking for that boy. I told him you would be coming. A great deadly beast of the winter forest padding silently after a golden boy.” 

“Boy?” 

“Do not go back to King’s Landing, milord. I see your head on a spike. Maybe not this time, but I see your head on a spike over the Red Keep.” 

“What boy?”

“The golden one.. Covered in dirt, but he shines still. Maybe brighter than before. He carries what you seek and soon he might have something even more precious to you.” 

“He has the princess? Stop speaking in riddles. Where did he go?”

But the old woman was in a trance, and if she heard him she did not speak like she heard him or cared at all.   
“Return to Winterfell and your wife. There are dark things beyond the Wall, my Lord. A Stark must always be in Winterfell.”

“I see a wolf and a lion forever in battle with each other over the most precious of things… In Salt and smoke and under a red star comes that which was promised. My Lord, if you go to King’s Landing, you will never see him full grown. There is a dark haired girl in a tower crying your name but so is your wife and children. Which promise will you keep?”

Ned could suffer the women’s rantings no more and he had stormed out of the cottage. He had no clue where Lannister took the Princess. At this rate, he could be at Dragonstone, Dorne, Essos, or the bottom of the sea. He was riding to King’s Landing to tell Jon he had indeed sent him on a fool’s errand. Then, he was going South to find his sister.


	7. Chapter 7

Jaime is listening to the Princess breathe as she sleeps. He has set himself to keeping her breathing and it is reassuring to him in the darkness of the locked room.. She sucks her little thumb absently as she sleeps. He has Wade on the other side of her. In the fight, he injured his ribs and they are bound up. His left leg has a cut and it is wrapped. He is afraid if they come for her in the night he might not wake because of his injuries, but if she is between them, one of them might wake. 

The guards have taken the mattress, the bed, and all their bags. It took several guards to restrain him when they held the black velvet bag and removed it from them. By then, he had no sword and he was in chains; there was little he could do to stop them. But still, he struggled.

It has been raining since yesterday and the rain is falling into the window and making them wet. Gently wet. In the quiet darkness of the keep, the soft rain reminds him that there are still small things to delight in. Like the Princess breathing. Like a lunch on the edge of a clearing overlooking the Sapphire Sea. Like a girl who puts kittens in her pocket. 

They took the mattress and the bed, but they did not take Wade’s mat. With precision that a master builder might have, Wade lay the mat where the bed once was and and placed the two blankets they had to make them a small bed on the floor. A place for Jaime to rest. After singing lullabies to the Princess, he had fallen asleep soundly.

Jaime feels like he would willing rip off someone’s head if someone pushed him. He is full of rage and frustration. A warrior without a sword. A man with no name. He is trying to be present and not lost in his thoughts, but he finds himself slipping in memories. It is dawn and he has been watching her sleep, reminding him of Tyrion, when he would climb beside him and sleep the untroubled sleep of children. Tyrion, only ten, trapped at Casterly Rock for the rest of his natural life. What will happen to his small broken brother if he is not here to help him make his way. Uncle Gerion, Uncle Kevan, there will be others to protect Tyrion, show him a way into the world.

In all his seventeen years, all he wanted was to be a true knight, a true member of the Kingsguard, to have small boys dream of being him, of risking everything for the right cause. In the darkness, he wonders what the other Kingsguard are doing at the Tower of Joy. He had wanted to meet them and tell him that he had saved the Princess from death and gotten her to safety. Just to be with them again, it would have felt like he had a purpose. Maybe he would have told them about what he had done to stop the Mad King. Maybe. Maybe they would kill him. At least, it would be done. Maybe, he will still get out of here and there may still be time to meet with them in Dorne.

He thinks back to the fight. The first group of men had come from the woods. They looked like displaced soldiers. Perhaps, a ship had sunk or gotten lost. There were six men to four men of Tarth. A fair fight. Galladon and Wade were with them. Jaime had nodded at him to find Nonnie and make sure she was safe but Galladon stayed on the edge and watched. 

When it was over, Fat Alyn was barely able to walk, Todd was laying on the beach dead along with another Tarth soldier and all six of the bandits. Something about them seemed familiar to him… They wore no heraldry and there was no glimpse of where they might have come. But these men were not general foot soldiers, there was more skilled.

At that moment, he heard the scream. It must have been Melissa. He and Galladon ran. As they ran up the beach toward where the girls had been. He heard Nonnie scream clear as a bell, “Ser Jaime... Ser Jaime …”

His blood went cold and his heart stopped and he ran. Nonnie hadn’t spoken in almost a month and even as a small child, she knew not to call him his name. Something terrible must be happening. 

Before they broke into the clearing, he looked to Galladon, “Run back to Evenhall and get as many men as you can. Quickly, run.”

In a fight, all of Jaime’s senses heightened, but it seemed that his sight was more focused on what he needed to do. There were three men. One was in the brush, waving his sword around, like he was trying to brush a rabbit out. The other two had Melissa on the ground. On was holding her arms; the other was between her legs. 

Jaime looked at the man in the brush. He was speaking in a high thin voice, “Princess, come out. Come out and we will go home. I will take you back home.”

Jaime looked at him and recognized his pig face, before he removed his head from his body. But he had seen the man recognize him. He had been his father’s bannerman for years, since before his birth. These were not deserters, they were Lannister men in disguise to look like deserters. They had come for him. The man in between Melissa’s legs was dead, before he had the good wisdom to look up and see the commotion. 

The man holding her arms was smarter, quicker. He pulled her to him and had her like a man might use a shield. Her dress was covered in blood of the man who had been killed. “Ser Jaime… It is good for you to come. We have been looking for you. If you can get the girl, we will be on our way.”

“No. I won’t. Let the Lady go and I will let you leave and go wherever you need to. I will give you five seconds and then you will go to see the Seven Hells.”

The man looked around like he was trying to figure out a way out of this wooded clearing. Jaime underestimated him and realized in a second that he had. The man stabbed Melissa through the side with his sword and with no sound, she sank to the forest floor. 

Jaime killed him before Melissa’s body was completely on the ground. 

“Wade,” he called out, “Wade.”

Out from the underbrush, three faces emerged like Children of the Forest; Rhaenys, Wade, and Brienne. “Wade, run to the keep and get men and the Maester.” 

Then, he looked up and there was a fourth face, Galladon. Galladon, who had also witnessed the fight, who had heard everything, who was old enough to repeat what was said here and what happened. 

Galladon gently took his Aunt’s hand, “Auntie.. Auntie.. It’s Galladon and Brienne. Are you okay?”

She touched the boy’s face. “Are you safe and well? Unhurt?”  
“We are safe.”  
“Good boy. I fear I need a Maester.”

Jaime had knelt down next to her and ripped her skirt to press down on the wound and staunch the blood.He had smiled, “I told you it would be a bad day to take a lunch outside by the sea. You should have listened.”

She had smiled, “I never listen. Now, we have ruined this dress.”  
He shrugged. “There will be other dresses. You will be Lady of Mistwood. There will be plenty of dresses.Your brother has returned and they will be shipping you off. Remember, we came out today to get away from him.”  
She furrowed her brow, “I don’t think your name is Ser Ryam Flowers. I think..

“Shhh. It is better for both of us that I will always be Ser Ryam Flowers..”

She had fallen asleep and he had pressed her dress against the wound while the Maester and all the guards came.

He has been locked in this room for two days now with Nonnie and Wade. Wade is trying to be brave for her. Jaime believes his father will pay enough people to keep him safe. But what of Nonnie.. 

Wade can’t stand the waiting, locked in this room. On the second night, he breaks into angry tears.

“My stepfather hated me and wanted me gone. He will have his wish. I will die here and my mother will never know. I won’t be buried in the lichyard, near father. My remains will be tossed to the sea and no one will mourn me, except for mother who will cry, never knowing what happened.” 

Jaime speaks, next to him in the dark. “Wade, I know you think they sent you away because you reminded him of your father but you were sent to page for Paxter Redwyne, the heir to the Arbor, not a second or third cousin. You must realize that they pulled strings to get you to be his page. Your stepfather wouldn’t do that if he did not wish you well, if he did not think you bright and pleasing and that you would do both your own House Wythers well, as well as your stepfather proud. Your stepfather is a poor cousin to Lord Redwyne. He would not risk it if he thought you would not do well. A man who did not care for you or your mother would save that for his own son.” 

For the rest of the night, Wade was silent. Until they came for him..  
In the darkness of a fitful night of sleep on stone, Wade went without a fight. Of course, they had Jaime chained and there was a sharp edge of a sword pressed into his back. Nonnie had herself in the corner, trying to disappear. Wade had went cheerfully but his eyes were afraid. “It will be well, Nonnie.” 

There is still hope. They have not separated him from Nonnie. They have not thrown them in the dungeon. As long as she is with him, there is still hope, still a chance.

“A manticore. Amory Lorch.” He says it out loud, without realizing it. He had been thinking on who was the man. That was the man who he killed, who had been looking for the princess..

 

When she wakes in the morning, she smiles at him. “I am hungry,” she says gently, like she is unsure if she remembers how to speak.

“Nonnie, I am sure they will bring us food. We must wait.”

Around noon, the Maester comes to check his wounds. He brings food for them. Nothing went like it should. Now, he has so little. The Maester brings water but it must have milk of the poppy because he falls asleep. 

It is dark when they wake him. They put a sack over his head. He goes to protest but there is a tip to a sword in his back and his hands are still chained. 

When they pull off the sack, he is in Lord Selwyn Tarth’s solar. Lord Tarth is a tall man with impossibly blue eyes. His face is stern and he has not shaved since he saw him when he returned three or four days ago. Then he had been brought in front of the Sandstone chair for the Lord to get a look at him, for him to kneel and swear his fealty to him. Jaime remembered thinking he would flee the next day. There was something knowing in the way the Evenstar looked at him. 

Jaime is pushed into sitting in the chair across from the desk. He thinks about what he should say or ask, what he might need to know, what information could he use, or deal could he make.. But he is not clever like his father, especially for politics.

Jaime speaks, “Lady Melissa, is she okay? Ser Alyn?”

“My sister’s injuries are grievous and I do not trust her to make it through this night. Ser Alyn is healing and the Maester believes he will be well if he rests.” 

Jaime sits in silence, weighing the words. It was the choice he made. He wouldn’t change it, but if he had chose Melissa, she would be here instead of Rhaenys. There was never a choice

“Ser, I am sorry for not being able to save your sister. I wasn’t quick enough. I had told her that we shouldn’t go to the sea. When Todd heard the noise, I knew we should come back.”

“I am sorry too, ser.. Melissa could be obstinate and she was too trusting. She believed the world could be a kind and gentle place... However, you returned to me my son and daughter unharmed. Both Galladon and Ser Alyn said you fought like a knight of old, Aemon the Dragonknight, Ser Criston Cole, or any number of the famed Kingsguard.  
I owe you a great deal, Ser Ryam. My children could have been harmed and you saved them. I believe I may owe something to that little Dornish girl you call your niece. Regardless of who you have told everyone who her father is, I believe you misspoke and I knew her father.  
In another time, I might let you stay here on Tarth and teach Galladon your skill, but Ser Ryam you must away, Your hair is coming in like gold from the sun and sea. You wield a sword like you are the Warrior. You are in the company of a Dornish girl . And then, she cries out your name. But it is not Ryam, she screams out.”

“My Lord, I did not mean to put anyone in danger.. I need some horses and a trip to shore and I will be on my way.. There is gold in the bag.”

Jaime wants to tell him that the men weren’t deserters but his father’s men but he does not want to make him afraid. Fearful men often act irrationally. He needs this man’s chivalry, not deception. 

Selwyn of Tarth continues. “If I were you, I would not ride on the road with that baby. Roads are more dangerous for you and her together.. And this bag is filled with so much more than gold; it is full of treason and death.. 

“My Lord, I do not mean to trouble you.”

 

“No, I don’t think you did. But trouble is here.. So, you are going to promise me a few things and I am going to put you on the fastest ship, whose captain I trust, I have at my disposal to get you to Sunspear. First, you will promise me, if you ever speak to your father, you will not tell him Tarth was your refuge. I need not the generosity, nor the wrath of the Lannisters.

“Yes, my Lord. I will never speak of it.”

“I ask you to make the same oath when it comes to our King. If you fall in his hands, you will not speak the words Tarth.”

“Ser, all Tarth has done for us, I will never betray you.”

“Lastly, you will owe me one favor of my choosing.”

“What is it, my Lord? I will do anything in my power…”

“I do not know what it is, or what it might be, but it is owed to Tarth. When the time comes, I will ask. It could be a song, or a squire for all I know.”

“I will grant it, when you ask it of me..”

“You are a true knight ser. What you did was brave and courageous. They will sing songs about how you rescued the Princess from your father’s men.” 

“You have returned from King’s Landing, my Lord? How is my father?”

“Well, Lord Lannister has thrown himself into the game, ser. There is talk his daughter Cersei will be wed to King Robert, regardless of whether they find the Stark girl. We go to war over a broken betrothal and Robert may back out of it, even if they find her. Cersei Lannister is a young and beautiful and a maid. One of those things Lyanna is no longer. Also, war is expensive and I don’t need to tell you, but the Lannisters have plenty of gold.” 

“Cersei and King Robert..?” Jaime hears his voice but it sounds far away.

Selwyn calls the soldiers back in the room. A sack is put back over his head and he is thrown into a wagon. Then, they are moving. He can smell the sea on the air and the air is heavy with all the water from the rain. They pull the sack of his head when they are at the dock. Wade and Nonnie are there and a chest which holds all their things. They unchain him and hand him his sword. In the darkness, they climb aboard the ship. 

In the dark, they set sail for Sunspear in the fastest smuggler ship in Westeros. Or at least that is what the Captain calls it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this story took off on its own path. I had not wanted Melissa to die. In fact, until a few days ago, I had not intended for that to happen at all... It seemed to make sense.. Also, I wanted to keep my orignal promise and keep it relatively short. I want to thank everyone for reading.. Only one more chapter...


	8. Chapter 8

Jaime Lannister is riding toward the North in the Prince’s Pass. They have been riding hard for days.. It is just him and some Martell household guards. At least, that is what he thought as they started out. He has since learned, even though they are not much for talking, that the six men are some of the most trusted guards that Prince Doran has. 

At first, they headed west. Then, as the mountains broke before them, they started heading north. Every day or two, they stop at a inn or a keep, rest for a few hours, exchange horses for some gold, and head further into the mountains. There seems to be plenty of gold and everyone seems to know they are coming. No wonder Dorne was never conquered.

The horse are some of the most beautiful he has ever seen. Jaime never believed the stories about sand steeds, about their endurance and their speed. He does now, since they seem unstoppable, incredible, gorgeous. Everyday, they ride for as long as they can and his legs and back ache from hours in the saddle. It has been a long time since he has been in the fields and the soft life of the Red Keep has affected him. 

They have been riding for a days. He wonders how Baelor walked the entire length of this forsaken country. It was burning hot and so dry. Surely, he would have died walking through the desert. Of course, he was King and the stories don’t mention how many caravans or Kingsguard he had with him. 

A week ago, the ship’s captain dropped him off at the docks of Sunspear and he made his way to the palace, through the Three Fold Gate, holding the Princess with one hand. Wade following behind carrying some of their things

In the Old Palace, some under steward tried to shoo him away from seeking entrance, but Jaime persisted and showed the man his white cloak from the bag and pulled Nonnie from behind him. “I have something to give House Martell. It belongs to them and I have journeyed from King’s Landing to deliver it.”

The under steward did not look like he understood, but Jaime spoke with the authority that his father would have been proud. The white cloak seemed so brilliantly white in the sunlight from the window. The under steward granted them entrance and then led them to an enclave, where he had them wait for the steward. Wade had help him put the white cloak around his shoulders. 

The steward came out of a doorway. Jaime told him he needed to speak with the Prince and that it was utmost importance. He placed the dragon brooch in his hand, “See that your Prince gets that.” 

Wade sat on the bench and played nervously with the wooden knights. Nonnie held one of the horses, but did not play. The heat made her lazy and she rocked gently against him, as she sucked her thumb. 

Wade spoke to her, “You mustn't suck your thumb, Nonnie. It is for babies and will make your teeth crooked. It was okay while we were on the road, but now we are here and you are home.”

Rhaenys looked up at Jaime and her brow furrowed and she stopped sucking. Jaime spoke, “Wade, you can’t call her Nonnie anymore. You must call her Princess or Lady Rhaenys, but not Nonnie. Princess, Wade is right, you are a big girl and you are home. No more thumbs.”

She looked troubled for a few moments, looking around the unfamiliar surroundings. For a second, she seemed like she might tell him no. Once she had started speaking again, no seemed like her favorite word. But instead, she laid her head back on his leather armor and started sucking her thumb untroubled. 

The Steward came ushered them into a private room. There were sugared lemons over shaved ice, blood oranges, pomegranates, grapes, spiced wine, water with mint and cucumbers, chocolate and cinnamon pears. The children went to the table and started eating the fruit until the door opened. Until Prince Doran had come in. 

After a happy reunion, Prince Doran had the children taken to be washed and changed. Jaime had spoken to the Prince of Dorne with candor and conviction, but cautious. He knew he would do anything for his niece, but what of Wade or even worse, for him. After all, it was his father who had Elia and Aegon killed.

“If I don't return, Wade will need to be returned to the Reach. His family will gladly ransom him.”

“I would never ransom him. He is a hero in Dorne. I’ll have my finest knights escort him.” 

“I don't think he will need all that, but there is more. If I don't come back or I die, I have written this letter for my father to find Wade a good place. He was a good boy and without him, we would not have made it. I would not see him abandoned after his good works. However, my father might be angry and ..”

“I will make sure the boy is given a good position. I will take him to be my own squire, though he might prefer to be Oberyn’s squire. Oberyn has many more adventures than I, and after this the boy might have a taste for adventure.”

“My Lord, you are to kind.” 

“Ser Jaime, you will always have a place in Dorne. I will find away to thank you properly when you return. “

Jaime spoke softly, “ I only wish I could have rescued your sister and the Prince.. I will come back. I am sworn to the Princess.” 

Jaime had only stayed one night. He had to get to get to the Tower and rejoin his brothers in the Kingsguard. Since Ser Jaime would only be staying for one night, they had allowed him to share a room with Rhaenys and Wade, though there were three beds. Jaime thought the Prince might have known how close they had become over the weeks of travelling together and he did not want to upset his niece.  
When the children returned, they had been washed clean and smelled like flowers and citrus. Rhaenys hair had been braided as best as they could with red and orange ribbons. She was the Princess and she finally looked like she was a princess and not an orphan. 

Wade had been dressed in silk and linen and looked like a Stony Dornishmen lord. Prince Doran had thanked him and offered him anything he desired. Jaime had asked him for fast horses and a guard to the Tower of Joy and to depart in the morning.

Even though there were three beds, they all slept in the biggest bed and roasted chicken with herbs and sweet potatoes. Servants kept bringing in toys, fine dolls and soft stuffed animals, armies of knights with brightly colored horses, a wooden dragon, so many toys, the children didn't have to argue. Still, Princess Rhaenys seemed reluctant to let go of the horse they had gotten in Tarth. 

Later that night, before they went to sleep, Jaime told Wade that he was going alone to the Tower of Joy, but he would come back and get him, if he could. “However, Prince Doran has promised to make you his squire... Or if you prefer, when Prince Oberyn comes back from the Free Cities, you could be his?”

Wade seemed reluctant. “Ser, please take me with you. I will be quiet and still. I will do all you ask.”

“It will be dangerous, too dangerous. Think of it, Wade. How many boys can say that that they were in the service of Lord Tarth, Lord Redwyne and Prince Doran of Martell? That is quite the list..” 

Wade looked up at him and smiled thoughtfully.. “Don’t forget, ser. I was the squire to Ser Jaime Lannister, youngest man to be made a member of the Kingsguard,, knighted by Ser Arthur Dayne after facing the Smiling Knight. House Lannister is also on that list.”

Jamie laughed, “That is true and don’t forget House Targaryen. You helped rescue the Princess Boy, you are a legend at nine. You will beat all my records, for sure.” 

“Will you rescue the Queen and Prince Viserys, ser?”

“I will go to the Tower of Joy and find my brothers in the Kingsguard and tell them what I know. They will decide. I don’t have a head for politics, just fighting. But the Lord Commander will know. Ser Hightower always knows. Maybe we will come back and guard the Princess.” 

“When you come back, Prince Doran says we will have a feast for five days to celebrate.”

“Please listen, if I don't come back. Stay awhile for Rhaenys. She may need some time to adjust.” 

“Ser, can I call her Nonnie, if it's just us?…”

“What do you think, Princess?” Jaime asked.

She looked at them and smiled, “Nonnie.”

In the morning, Jaime could hear the Princess cry for him as he rode away from the Old Palace in the company of the Martell guard. She was screaming high pitched, unable to catch her breath. “Ser Jaime ...Ser Jaime …” until the words fell into mindless cries. He closed his eyes for a second and held his breath. Soon, he would be out in the city and unable to hear her cries from the noises of the city. He closed his eyes and imagined Wade taking one of the horses or knights out of his pocket and showing her, distracting her. Tonight, Wade would sing to her and hopefully they would let him sleep close. Princess Rhaenys would be safe and well. She will be fine.

While they ride, he thinks about his sister, his brother, his father. He thinks about Melissa and wonders if she pulled through and hopes she did. He smiles thinking of her going to Mistwood and getting married under the Seven Pointed Star.

He will come back to Sunspear for the boy. Unless they had to flee. There would be no reason to take the boy into exile… Perhaps the Kingsguard would kill him for what he did to the King. Or force him to take the black. 

Today, in the new light of the sunrise, they crested a mountain and he sees the Tower of Joy. He can sense that the Kingsguard are watching them, from the Tower, preparing. Dangerous men preparing for danger. He sends the Martell men back with his thanks. He adjusts his white cloak. A red tower against the red mountains. The sky is blue and the sun is hot. If they only see a single white cloak and the Dornish house guards riding away, they might realize it is him and he is not a threat, but has come to join them. He does not want trouble, but today is as good a day to die as any other.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really enjoyed writing this story but as I wrote it more questions came to the surface.. What will happen to Jaime? Will he tell the Kingsguard what he did? Will they make him take the Black? What will Robert do after he hears how Jaime saved Rhaenys and got her to Dorne? Will Ned find his sister alive or dead? Is Prince Doran trustworthy? What will be the favor Selwyn of Tarth will ask?

Ned is seated at a table in a large room at the top of the Tower of Joy. There are two large windows and between them is a large bed. The windows have ledges large enough so that someone could sit and look out. There are cushions and he knows that his sister would sit here and look to the North. Was that a kindness or a punishment? Did she watch for him? Was it with dread or hope? Ned thinks to himself that he knows so little of his sister, that she is almost a stranger to him. 

When he arrived here, he had expected a fight. Instead, he had found an empty tower. There is no one here at the Tower of Joy, except for him and his six men. So he sits here and wonders what he should do next. 

There is firewood, near some of the fire places. There is some food still in the larder. There are brooms in corners and sheets on the beds. 

It is, as if all left in a rush.

There is no sign of struggle. There is no blood, no battle, no foul play.

It is like they disappeared. 

 

Ned knows this is the room where Lyanna was kept. By the bed table there is a vase, filled with roses, red and pink like the ones he saw growing up the tower. But there scent is faint since they are dried and brown in the vase. In that bed, Lyanna slept. In that bed, Rhaegar … Ned pushes those thoughts from his head. 

Willam Dustin pushes the door open, “My Lord, there is no one here. It appears they went South. There are tracks of a wagon leading South down the pass.” 

Ned sits in the chair at the table. The flowers petals are dark and dry, but not too dried out. It could only be a fortnight they were without water. Maybe a week. Somehow, they had slipped through his grasp.   
He rubbed the table as he looked out the window. 

Where would they take her? Sunspear? Essos? Dragonstone?

Starfall… he thought. It was only a few days away, even in a wagon. Dayne might have taken her there. 

Ned went to the window and looked out. The window faced the North and she would look out this window everyday and think of her family that lay so far away. 

Maybe she did not want to be found. 

Mark Ryswell finds him there, almost an hour later, still looking out the window. The Northern men are still searching the path and the Tower for useful supplies, and any ale. Ale might be very helpful for tonight and his troubled thoughts. “My lord, Dustin seems certain your sister is still with the Kingsguard. We should depart soon. Have you found anything here that would make you know where they might be headed?”

“No, there is nothing up here”

Ned moved from the window, Underneath the pillow had been a small blanket that she had been sewing. A small blanket that she had been embroidering. Lyanna hated to embroider, so she was probably bored to death, in order to do something that she detested. Ned had wondered what she was planning to do with a blanket that small. When it hit him, he felt foolish and his face flushed with shame. He needed to find his sister and her child so he could help them.


End file.
